'I am the best': Dillashaw brutally cements 'greatest ever' claims

TJ Dillashaw has cemented his status as arguably the greatest bantamweight in the history of the UFC after mauling Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227.

The 32-year-old knocked out Garbrandt for a second time to improve his career record to 16-3 and retain his bantamweight belt.

Dillashaw certainly believes he has now done enough to be considered the greatest fighter in his division.

“I am the best bantamweight of all time,” he said. “That’s it. The best bantamweight of all time. Here, right now.”

Dillashaw stopped Garbrandt within the first minute of their rematch after a vicious barrage of hitting.

Garbrandt got a good early right on Dillashaw that closed his opponent’s right eye but the champion responded immediately with a powerful shot of his own that dumped Garbrandt on his backside.

Dillashaw pounced on his opponent – landing a number of hard shots to the face before Garbrandt was able to steady himself.

The pair continued to trade big shots but a huge right from Dillashaw put Garbrandt down again.

The challenger once again got to his feet but Dillashaw landed a series of punches as they were against the cage, with the referee close to ending the fight then and there.

One final ground-and-pound flurry from Dillashaw was all that it took for the bout to come to an inevitable conclusion.

Dillashaw’s emphatic victory sets up a potentially mouthwatering fight against Henry Cejudo, who ended Demetrious Johnson’s six-year title reign to claim the flyweight belt.

Cejudo confirmed after the stunning win that he was considering a blockbuster bout with Dillashaw.

The Californian revealed after the split decision victory that he is willing to move up in weight to take on the bantamweight champion.

“TJ has always thought about going down,” Cejudo said.

“I’m saying, ‘Hey, it’s no more DJ [Johnson]. It’s Henry Cejudo and I want to go up.’

“Let’s do it – 135 pounds. I’m willing to challenge the champ.”

Asked about a potential clash, Dillashaw replied: “Bring it baby, let’s do this.”

With Yahoo US